The ABC's of a FALL Trip with Friends, Food, Wine, and a Conference- A PTR for Now UPDATED 9/28, THE WHAT

[Steppesister]

Following along.

Wonderful to have you joining in!! A very big to you!

 

[Steppesister]

THE WHAT​

Today hits the 3-week mark for this trip! That means 3 more Pre-Trippie chapters of Antsy, Impatient Drivel to go. We’ve covered the WHO and the WHERE, let’s move on to the WHAT. I mean everyone loves a good plan, right? Well, okay maybe it’s just us overly Type A’s who feel some ridiculous, innate need to have all the proverbial ducks in a row. I guess I’d rather border on neurotic duck lining up than diddle around with zero clue. I mean plans can be changed on the fly, but having no plan at all is a recipe for missed opportunities blended with frustration and aimless wandering.

So, without further driveling here’s how things are shaping up. Mind you there was a “last minute” park change up since Disney changed up an EMH this week that we’d planned.

Sunday, Oct. 19th​

Lori picks me up at 2:00AM for our 5:30AM flight from BNA to MCO. Yes, you read that right. Not gonna lie, this is the start of a very long, 24-hour day. On the bright side, it's a SW non-stop.

We should land around 8:15 (in a perfect world). My original plan was to use my free water park tix, but Lori is leaving early on Wednesday and wants to use her 3-day tix best, which means we have to go to a park on Sunday. One of these days I’ll finally get to try Typhoon Lagoon.

Where to first... it makes sense to head straight to EPCOT after a bag dump at CSR. My guess is we’ll get there right about the time the F&W kiosks open at 11:00 so I can get a solid start on a Festival Pig Out. Oh! Did I mention I got a GEO82 reservation at 2:10. Unfortunately, I could only find something for 1 person. I’m REALLY hoping though that we can both show up and they can squeeze two of us in. Then again, she may pass on this one and wander around. Kari, @Malia78 , is also joining us today to share the room for 2 nights, but I don’t know what time she’s planning to arrive at the park. Her plan is to focus on F&W booths, as is mine, so I’m sure we’ll join up for some touring, hopefully, earlier than later.

But wait, there’s MORE!! We’ll have to leave the park at 4:00 as Pat and Marv (remember them, Old Timey DISsers?) will be picking us up for SeaWorld’s Howl O’Scream that a bunch of us are going to, Mary Ellen and Denny included. You indeed read that right too. Instead of being responsible adults, Lori and I will meet a group of long-standing DISFriends for a late party. I’m positive I’m going to regret this decision when I fall into bed after being up for almost 24 hours.

Our lovely Coronado Springs- I can think of worse places to pick up some CEs!

(Taken on a 2021 trip)


Monday, Oct. 20th​

Wakey, wakey…. ouch!, this may be a pretty tough alarm. Free breakfast starts at 7:00AM but we’re not doing that. Instead, we’re going to head to Yacht for an Ale and Compass brunch at 9:40. The plan is to set up our laptops and listen to the sessions in a quiet corner and continue with the next session while we eat. The morning lectures are done at 11:15, so we’ll head to the park then and stash our bags in a locker for the day. But where, WHERE I ask you! DHS, of course. I mean the SkyLiner is right there!

(2018)​

Honestly, I don’t think we’ll last long, but we’ll have to because Dinner is at Il Mulino at 7:00. I’ve been wanting to try that for quite some time, so I am excited to see how it is.

Tues, Oct. 21st​

Once again, the free brekkie is at 7:15 and this time we’ll likely utilize it. The sky’s the limit for WHERE we will do the lectures; they are available remotely so we could choose to actually attend them live in whatever meeting room it’s in, or head to the pool, the Dahlia, or any one of the many CSR courtyards… who knows. What I do know is that at 11:15 we’ll head to AK for an afternoon of fun there. My usual go-to is Satuli, but we’ll see what mood we’re in, in the moment. I don’t know what Lori will do after the park closes at 6:00, but I think I’d like to catch one or two of the sessions we’ll have missed by playing hooky and then having a late dinner at Three Bridges. The sangria flight calls my name.

(50th Anniversary Trip)


Wed, Oct 22nd​

Day 3 of the conference. I’ll need to check my bags into Luggage Services so they can be taken to AKL. We’ll have a repeat of the prior day with Conference in the morning, but Lori is leaving sometime that morning for an early afternoon flight home. I’ll be heading over to MK and use the first QS credit of our FREE DINING PKG at either CHH or Pecos. Dunno, but I’ve got the BFP (Big, Fat Plan) and I ain’t afraid to use it! At some point, Caroline will head there too and we’ll fill up the time with… stuff… until our Beak and Barrel ADR at 7:00. I was totally lucky getting this Ressie as I completely bombed getting it at 60 days. I just kept trolling the App and scored one during a downtime between patients. I think I freaked my co-workers out a little when I busted out a legit happy dance in the clinic.

(Not my photo, but can't wait!)​

The parade is at 8:00 and I’m super stoked to see a new night-time offering. I may cry a little as the ending has a nice nod to the classic MSEP. Historically, MK had EMH on Wednesdays, but that’s changed in the last couple of weeks. So, instead, we’ll book it and head to DHS where they’ve moved EMH to and get some more action in there.

Thurs, Oct 23rd​

This is another day of lectures, but I’m not going to do a single one that day, but instead listen to all of these sessions from home as they are available to me for 30 days afterwards. That’s what weekends at home are for. (Unless I haven't hit my requirement for the Pharm CEs by then.)

We decided to start our day off at AK (I’ll RD this so I can hit up FOP and Navi first thing, not sure about Caroline) and have lunch at Y&Y. I finally broke down and snagged a Landry’s card so am hoping they will give me back MY table upstairs by the window.

After lunch, we’ll hop to EPCOT to oink out on some more F&W treats. Why not? It’s vacation. Then again, we may not; we have a San Angel ADR at 7:00 with Free Dining. The amount of food consumption I envision is frightening.

(Years ago!)


Fri, Oct. 24th​

Why not start the day off right by eating again? Follow us as we head to a Topolino’s breakfast at the lovely Riviera. Burp. It makes sense to stay on the Liner so we’ll move to DHS for however long we feel like it. I’ve got my eye on the Bouncin’ Churros at Ice Cold Hydraulics.

​

Dinner? Who knows. We have an unplanned, extra TS credit now as I dumped our Tony’s ADR when we thought EMH was at MK. (Doncha love Disney Alphabet Soup?) So, maybe it’ll be somewhere at DHS? Back at our resort? Sanaa? @disneyAndi14 ???

Sat, Oct. 25th​

An all-day EPCOT extravaganza! I’ve heard tell that there are some quite lovely delectables at Les Halles in the morning but could also see using a QS at the Creperie too. My plan is to hit the F&W booths hard so the day will likely be a grazing sort of affair. After a full day at EPCOT, we’ll end back at AKL for our “fancy dinner” at JIKO. I haven’t eaten there since 2016 when I did the now-defunct Wanyama Tour with my youngest. I miss that tour terribly. But I do remember that the food at JIKO was outstanding. Simply superb in every way! Dinner is scheduled for 7:00, so I imagine we’ll be in our room by 9:00 or so. I’m hoping to catch up on a missed session or two and get those certificates uploaded to my Nurse Portal. Did I mention that I have to complete 5 CEs of pharmacology by October 31st? The conference offers a whopping 7.5 pharm CEs, so that’ll more than take care of my yearly requirements.

Sun, Oct. 26th​

Last full day in the parks for me. I’ve chosen MK for really no particular reason other than it won’t have gotten a lot of love up til now. This’ll be my RD day there and I’ll take care of the attractions I hadn’t been able to yet. There might be an afternoon break in there before we get ourselves to the Springs for dinner. I’m dying to check out Jock’s Halloween Overlay and try a seasonal cocktail too. Wine Bar George is holding a table for us at 7:00 where I will have a special date with some fried Mac & Cheese bites. Might pick me up a Gideon’s Cookie too. #eatallthethings

2021-



Mon, Oct. 27th​

It’s go-home day. But not without a fight. It’ll be a game-day decision on whether I end with my favorite park, AK, or back at EPCOT for a few last F&W goodies. One never knows. What I DO know is that I’ll probably have some leftovers I’ll want to take home with me and that I have to leave for the airport at 4:00 for a 7:30PM flight. Ugh.

​

And that, Folks, is the BFP as it stands today. There may be small tweaks in the next week or so, and we still need to think on our LL’s and if we’ll do “Fancy Rides”. I’ll hold off on making my laminated Daily Itinerary Cards until after we get any last reservations and/or our LLs.

Still to come: All the delicious details of my hopes and dreams in the form of food. Plus, maybe some extra tidbits on packing and miscellaneous preps.

Until then, See y’all Real Soon!

 

[pkondz]

Today hits the 3-week mark for this trip!

Coming up soon!

let’s move on to the WHAT.

What?

Lori picks me up at 2:00AM

Oh! Did I mention I got a GEO82 reservation at 2:10.

Nice score, there.

Pat and Marv (remember them, Old Timey DISsers?)

SeaWorld’s Howl O’Scream that a bunch of us are going to

Never heard of this?

I’m positive I’m going to regret this decision when I fall into bed after being up for almost 24 hours.

The plan is to set up our laptops and listen to the sessions in a quiet corner and continue with the next session while we eat.

"while we sleep"

Dinner is at Il Mulino at 7:00. I’ve been wanting to try that for quite some time

Nice. I've wanted to try that too.

until our Beak and Barrel ADR at 7:00.

Another score. Have only recently heard of this.

I think I freaked my co-workers out a little when I busted out a legit happy dance in the clinic.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Well what can I say except the BFP sounds absolutely, blimin scrumptious!
I mean what’s not to love about tasty snacks at F&W and fancy dining plans around the various parks and resorts except to add that a lot of it is “FREE”!
Can’t wait to hear about the new bars and your thoughts on them.
Not long to go now. Excited to hear how it all pans out. Wishing you a great trip!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Hi there!
I think we should do MK on Friday because a party day is the best time to visit and I don’t see us visiting at all other then Wednesday and it will be crowded on Wednesday with no MNSSHP. I may head there that day!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I think you may still have my phone number from last time we got to say hello?

I have your phone number. We'll have to figure something out. My sister is going on an African safari in November, and she might find you to be invaluable. We are traveling my my sister and DH's sister.

We are going to MK on two of the party days, Tuesday and Thursday, because we love low crowds.

 

[Steppesister]

Coming up soon!

12 more work days. (But who's counting?)

What?

Turn up your hearing aids!

Never heard of this?

Seems a lot of the Orlando area parks have some iteration of a Halloween party.

"while we sleep"

Yeah, that.

Another score. Have only recently heard of this.

Super excited for finding hidden gems!

 

[Steppesister]

Well what can I say except the BFP sounds absolutely, blimin scrumptious!
I mean what’s not to love about tasty snacks at F&W and fancy dining plans around the various parks and resorts except to add that a lot of it is “FREE”!
Can’t wait to hear about the new bars and your thoughts on them.
Not long to go now. Excited to hear how it all pans out. Wishing you a great trip!

Lots of eating! I know last time the kids and I had "free dining" it was food overload. OY!

I have been trolling the nets for hidden gems and Easter Eggs so am excited to hunt for them. Looking like that there are already a few "last minute" changes too. Stay tuned!

 

[Steppesister]

Hi there!
I think we should do MK on Friday because a party day is the best time to visit and I don’t see us visiting at all other then Wednesday and it will be crowded on Wednesday with no MNSSHP. I may head there that day!

I agree!! I added a Plaza ADR for 11:40 on Wed btw, in case you want to join me. Not sure what time you're planning to get to the park, but I'll have come from CSR after the morning sessions end at 11:15 and will want some lunch. I/we could use our extra credit there for a free lunch. I've never been to Crystal Palace and while I really don't care for buffets, I'd be open if ONLY to see what it's like in there. Thoughts?

 

[Steppesister]

I have your phone number. We'll have to figure something out. My sister is going on an African safari in November, and she might find you to be invaluable. We are traveling my my sister and DH's sister.

We are going to MK on two of the party days, Tuesday and Thursday, because we love low crowds.

Sounds like a plan!!! A loose one, but a plan

I'd love to talk with your sis about her upcoming adventure.

I'm not seeing a party on that Tuesday? Are you staying on and mean the 28th?

 

[pkondz]

12 more work days. (But who's counting?)

Certainly not you.

Turn up your hearing aids!

Eh?

Super excited for finding hidden gems!

Lots of “firsts” for you, this trip.

 

[missjackiemcg]

Well, okay maybe it’s just us overly Type A’s who feel some ridiculous, innate need to have all the proverbial ducks in a row. I guess I’d rather border on neurotic duck lining up than diddle around with zero clue.

Well, I fit right into that Type A planner category!! My ADR day for our December trip is on October 23rd. I have spent lots of time the last few days working on my list of reservations to snag! It's always extra wild for this trip because we're there during Christmas and New Year, so I need to have lots of back up plans. It sounds insane, I know, but this is really part of the fun of planning, for me!

I think I freaked my co-workers out a little when I busted out a legit happy dance in the clinic.

LOL, I can imagine! I love when that happens but I'm at school--my students think their teacher has lost her mind, but a happiness is absolutely required when you stumble on a reservation you've been stalking!